It was like having a case of the measles after having the mumps which followed a cold.

Facing an injury-ravaged Lugoff-Elgin girls’ squad, sixth-ranked Spring Valley came into the Demons Den and dealt the Lady Demons a 71-6 loss on Friday night in a contest in which the hard-luck hostesses had another player leave the game with a knee injury.

With knee injuries having already felled six L-E players, when Ebonie Ross went to the floor clutching her right leg in the first half, it took another player away from Von Duncan’s paper-thin bench. Add that to the fact that the Lady Vikings were already loaded for bear, and this game was not in doubt once the ball went in the air for the opening tip.

SV led, 26-0, after the first quarter and increased that to 41-0 with a minute left in the opening half before the Lady Demons got on the board thanks to a three-point jumper from sophomore Unique Patterson. The basket was one of two --- both from beyond the arc --- on the night for L-E which received a 3-ball from junior guard Kristian Wells with 3:26 left in the third quarter which ended a 17-0 SV run and made it a 56-6 game.

SV led, 43-3 at the break and 63-6 after three stanzas

Duncan said her team knew the odds were hardly in their favor coming in this Region 4-4A contest. All she wanted to see from her girls was that they played hard and competed. The Lady Demon head coach got just that for the full 32 minutes.

"We gave a good effort," she said. "We knew what we were up against tonight. Like I said earlier in the season, we have key players who are out injured. We just have to roll with the punches."

SV was without two injured players as the guests dressed out just nine players. Head coach Anne Long called off the dogs early as the Lady Vikings cruised to a 14-0 lead a little more than four minutes into the contest. The guests had already sewn things up after the opening stanza in which they built a 26-point lead.

SV center Shantay Taylor gave L-E fits as the 6-foot-2 junior scored 12 of her game-best 22 points in the game’s first five minutes.

Duncan called a time out early in the first quarter to try and settle down her team which was turning the ball over before they could set up their offense against an active SV zone defensive scheme.

"I just told them to relax, run the offense and keep playing … keep pushing," Duncan said.

The injury to Ross and an accumulation of fouls led to several L-E players seeing extensive court time. Tierra Hodge logged heavy minutes at point guard while Tanaia McAllister saw ample playing time inside at forward against the taller and more athletic Vikings.

Duncan said the experience which her team is receiving in playing ranked teams such as region foes Spring Valley Dutch Fork will only help her team down the road. What she likes seeing from her team is that they have not quit while enjoying the game.

"With all the injuries we’ve had," she said, "it kind of put things into perspective that we can’t depend on just certain players. We haven’t run out the same lineup since we’ve started region play.

"We have to keep practicing and playing hard, keep pushing and keep smiling. If we can keep smiling after that all we’ve endured this year, that’s good enough for me."